Should swimmers do other activities?

Absolutely!!! I played soccer, rugby, and was an avid surfer during my younger days. Even when I had commited to swimming and was making national teams, I was still surfing on a regular basis. Swimming is one of the toughest sports to be commited to. To be successful, it takes a tremendous amount of time and dedication. Being involved in other activities will help a swimmer endure the rigors of swimming and helps a child see her potential. As time moves on a swimmer will get a clear picture of what they are good at and make choices. There will come a time as you get older where you will need to narrow your focus and just dedicate yourself to one particular thing. Generally this occurs in girls around 8th grade and boys around 10th grade. At this age swimmers tend to decide what they want to do with their swimming. It has been my experience that a girl decides if swimming is her thing by 10th grade and this is reflected in her commitment to the sport. In boys it occurs around 11th grade.
Younger swimmers should experiment with what ever activities they have an interest in. I would say, that if a child shows potential in swimming that they not quit it altogether but instead "keep a finger in it" otherwise they will lose to much skill development and conditioning when they later decide to stay with the sport.

Coach Ian